Posted on 01/19/2005 10:26:37 AM PST by LibWhacker
WASHINGTON - White House ally Ken Mehlman assumed control of the Republican Party on Wednesday, crowing over GOP successes in November with a pledge "to cement these victories into a durable Republican majority."
Mehlman, a longtime GOP operative who managed President Bush (news - web sites)'s re-election bid, said voters gave the president and his party a sweeping mandate. Addressing the Republican National Committee (news - web sites) on the eve of Bush's inaugural, Mehlman took a thinly veiled shot at former Bush rival John Kerry (news - web sites).
"Given the choice between freedom and fear, between paying any price and cutting and running, between victory and vacillation, the American people lived up to the best traditions of our nation and chose to rally behind our banner of freedom," Mehlman said in a text of his remarks released by the RNC before the address.
Bush tapped Mehlman to head the RNC, whose membership was expected to ratify the choice before its two-day meeting ends later Wednesday.
Mehlman, a disciple of White House strategist Karl Rove, said Bush is the first president since 1936 to be re-elected while his party expanded majorities in the House and Senate. Republican governors head 28 states, including the four largest.
"There's a word for this kind of victory," he said. "It's called a mandate."
Mehlman credited Bush's conservative agenda and a groundbreaking grassroots operation for the election success, and outlined four ways to extend the GOP majority:
_ Enact the president's agenda, including fighting terrorism, revamping Social Security (news - web sites), changing the tax code, appointing "strict constructionists to the courts," promoting "a culture of life" and protecting the institution of marriage. The latter items refer to opposition to abortion and gay marriage.
_ Use the GOP agenda to expand the party. He said Republicans can appeal to young voters through Social Security changes, blacks through school voucher initiatives and conservatives "with our work for a culture of life, promotion of marriage" and protecting gun rights.
_ Recruit quality candidates for the 2005 and 2006 elections, which Mehlman called "a difficult challenge" given the poor history of parties in power during midterms. He urged RNC members to start focusing on the 2008 presidential race and, further down the road, the 2011 redistricting process.
_ Institutionalize the GOP's 2004 grassroots operation, which most experts believe was far better than the Democrats'. He said voter registration should be a permanent program and Republicans must muster early and absentee voting, an area where experts believe Democrats may have had an edge.
"If we can accomplish these four goals, the Republican Party, the dominant party in America in 2002 and 2004, can continue to earn our position in the future," Mehlman said.
No mention of immigration. How does that fit into their strategy? I truly hope they get us some good SCOTUS nominees, but if Alberto "let's bring back the Assault Weapons Ban" Gonzalez is any indication, it won't be all roses. Janice Rogers Brown looks very good on paper. I hope he picks her first.
The RNC's role is to elect Republicans, not set forth policy.
I don't get your point. This piece describes strategies aimed at electing Republicans by leveraging the Administration's policies. I was looking to see if they were going to make some connection between amnesty for illegals and the hispanic vote--looking for organic growth--but it wasn't there.
The United States Supreme Court, however, began in the 1940s to incorporate the Bill of Rights into the 14th Amendment…The historical evidence supporting what the Supreme Court did here is pretty sketchy…The argument on the other side is pretty overwhelming that it’s probably not incorporated."
- Janice Rogers Brown, Speech to Pepperdine Bible Lectureship entitled “Beyond the Abyss: Restoring Religion on the Public Square,” in 1999
I think she's pretty good, based on what I've read.
In speeches as well as in some of her opinions, Brown has embraced extreme anti-federal-government positions. What she has called the "Revolution of 1937," when the Supreme Court began to consistently sustain New Deal legislation against legal attack, was in her mind a "disaster" that marked "the triumph of our socialist revolution." This extremist anti-government position is especially troubling for a nominee to the D.C. Circuit, which has primary jurisdiction for cases involving federal regulatory agencies.
I would like to see a very aggressive RNC. They did a great job in finding more voters for the president this time around. The task ahead will be a much tougher one. Finding an electable Republican for '08 will be challenging as well as holding on to or even builing on the gains in the House and Senate.
I think Mehlman is the right man for the job.
"My grandparents’ generation thought being on the government dole was disgraceful, a blight on the family’s honor. Today’s senior citizens blithely cannibalize their grandchildren because they have a right to get as much “free” stuff as the political system will permit them to extract...Big government is...[t]he drug of choice for multinational corporations and single moms, for regulated industries and rugged Midwestern farmers, and militant senior citizens. [IFJ speech at 2,3] - Janice Rogers Brown"
Mixed bag as far as I can tell. Anyone who cannot read the 10th Amendment (and I interpret her statement on incorporation to indicate she can't, is suspect in my book).
She does have some other excellent things to say.
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=14177#2
You sure you don't mean the 9th? I don't see how the 10th has anything to do with encorporation of the 14th.
Right you are... Here is another one from Justice Brown. "Theft is theft even when the government approves of the thievery. Turning a democracy into a kleptocracy does not enhance the stature of the thieves; it only diminishes the legitimacy of the government." I still think her jurisprudence is a mixed bag. She is definately better than many who wear the black robes today. Is that enough? Maybe.
To me, she has a sufficient level of anti-socialist, anti-collectivist, anti-federal opinion to make her very interesting.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
My interpretation is that the 10th and 2nd prohibit the states from infringing on the right to keep and bear arms suitable for militia (military) service. I hope that clears things up. The 9th (to me and I an NOT a lawyer) sets the stage for the 10th.
I found the equivalent here I think re: Durable Majority
I forgot about bugmenot.com after telling folks about it, usually for WaPo stories. Duh
Thanks for the reminder.
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